Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Issue #5: Are we really
‘bout that life’?: Urban educators as activists in, and for, their urban school
communities

The John Dewey Society, founded
in 1935, created The Journal of School & Society in order to meet
one of its central aims: to support a vibrant public education system by
fostering intelligent inquiry into problems pertaining to the place and
function of education in social change, particularly among teachers, parents,
and community activists.

We invite all those interested in engaged public
scholarship to contribute to this exciting venue!

Over
the past few months, increased attention has been dedicated to police violence
occurring across the country on, disproportionately, black and brown bodies—largely
due to the Black Lives Matter movement. And, with the heightened
criminalization of black and brown girls (both in and out of schools), mass
incarceration, the poisoning of water in Flint, Michigan, massive deportation
of immigrants from Latin America, and issues of gentrification and displacement
in urban centers across America, urban educators, specifically, are presented
with urgent and necessary opportunities to engage with, and advocate for, the
communities in which they teach.

Often, the term “urban,”
employed within an education context, evokes conceptions of deficiency and
inadequacy. In this issue, we obviously wish to reject such thinking,
recognizing the many talents and possibilities of such communities. We also
recognize that it is not the magnitude of population alone that defines an
urban space. Many communities may share characteristics of urban spaces—characteristics
such as cultural diversity, massively uneven capital accumulation and
investment, and intensified policing and surveillance.

As
it relates to schooling, residents in urban communities have become
increasingly disempowered through appointed school boards and school
superintendents as well as the increased implementation of state-appointed
emergency mangers—all of which collectively serve to marginalize and silence
the voices of these citizens. And yet, urban teachers—who are often armed with
greater economic resources, a functional linguistic compatibility with Power,
greater access to decision-makers, and greater knowledge of the mechanics of Power—are
uniquely positioned to aid their school’s surrounding community in ways many
urban low-income minority residents cannot. With the understanding that
teaching is inherently political, educators are either consciously fighting
oppression and marginalization, or passively sustaining it.

As
urban educators looking to be agents of positive change, we need only look
outside our classroom windows for abundant opportunities to practice needed,
meaningful activism. And though often, we may think that we are affecting
change by teaching the next generation of potential leaders and social justice
fighters, it is quite possible that we could be, and should be, doing much more
to participate as change agents outside the school community: with, and on
behalf of, the communities we where we work.

Expansive literature explores
the often-divergent backgrounds and lived experiences between urban teachers,
their students, and communities in which they work. It has also sought to
understand the racial, cultural, social, and linguistic disconnects between
urban schools and they communities they serve. Too often, an adversarial
relationship between educational systems and urban communities is the result.

Conversely, research also
suggests the positive impacts of teachers employing critical pedagogy for their
traditionally marginalized students in urban contexts. School-based activism
can improve academic outcomes and feelings of agency among low-income minority
students. In short, there is a profound potential for urban teachers to
practice social justice advocacy on behalf of their students.

While
we know the impact that teachers can have in the classroom, what is less
explored are the experiences of urban educators who advocate for societal
change beyond the walls of the schoolhouse to combat oppressive conditions
present in the communities where they teach—for the betterment of the community.

The
aim of this special issue of the Journal of School and Society is,
therefore, to explore and unpack the role of urban teachers as community
advocates for social justice. In particular, this special issue seeks to
explore:

• What responsibility do urban educators have to
the schools’ surrounding community?

•What role, if any, do urban teachers have in
community resistance efforts?

• What does community-based activism involving
teachers look like?

• How can teachers help urban community members
in their struggle to achieve social justice and equity?

• What are the possibilities for increased
partnership between urban educators and urban residents for unified advocacy?

• What do urban communities expect of their
teachers as partners in community-based struggle?

Ideal contributors to this
Special Issue would be any urban educator, urban education researcher, or urban
community member involved in advocating for social justice, and representatives
from nonprofit and charitable organizations working in urban contexts to
achieve greater equity on behalf of residents. As people working to ensure a
more equitable urban society, this issue seeks to better understand how you
believe urban educators can assist residents in their community-based struggles.
What does authentic partnership look like? What would the outcomes be if urban
educators fought alongside urban residents? What promise does such
educator-resident hold?

How to Contribute to the
Issue

Unlike
many academic journals, this publication actively seeks out both its
contributors and its readership. Working in the spirit of Dewey, we seek to
create the dialogic spaces and public engagement that we believe is sometimes
missing from educational debate.

We view our work as broadly
educative, in that we want to help connect practitioners in public dialogue. To
do so, we work closely with educators and community activists to bring out
their voices and stories. We also work closely with academics who wish to
contribute their expertise and insight to the conversation.

Invited Pieces

Work from educators and other
community members are welcome. This work may take either standard article form
or may be submitted in alternative formats, such as a video interview or
presentation. A grounding in scholarship is not necessary, although the author
will want to situate their work clearly within the scope of the theme of the
issue. Ordinarily, articles in this category will range from 2,000-5,000 words,
although both longer and shorter submissions may be appropriate. Authors should
expect to work closely with the editorial team to produce their submissions.

Peer-Reviewed Scholarly
Articles

Submissions
for the peer-reviewed section of the journal are expected to conform to
scholarly standards in their use of theory and empirical research to ground
discussion of educational issues. Expected article length is ordinarily in the
5,000-8,000 word range, but both longer and shorter pieces can be considered.
In addition to the Editors, articles in this category will be read by a minimum
of two peer reviewers.

Submission Guidelines

Please see our journalwebsite for specifics. Submissions and inquiries should be emailed to Keith
Benson, Guest Editor of The Journal of School & Society and
Secondary Educator at Camden High School in Camden, New Jersey. Keith’s email
is keith.benson@gse.rutgers.edu. Submissions should be received by February 1,
2017.

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About 'Social Issues'

Social Issues is a blog maintained by the John Dewey Society's Commission on Social Issues.

The Commission exists to encourage reflection on pressing social, cultural and educational issues and to support communications among members of the John Dewey Society and concerned publics on these issues.